Tensions are running high in Indian-administered Kashmir after a civilian was shot dead by suspected militants on Thursday, prompting members of the region's Hindu community, also called Pandits, to flee their homes.
The killing of a government employee last month and a Hindu school teacher on Tuesday triggered protests by the Kashmiri Pandit community, who threatened mass migration if the government failed to prevent similar attacks.
Thursday’s killing has further amplified the concerns of the Hindu community in Kashmir.
According to a senior police officer, who wished to remain anonymous, more than 100 Kashmiri Pandit families have already left the region.
However, a Kashmiri Pandit organisation put the number of those fleeing the region higher. Sanjay Tickoo, head of Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), the region's largest Pandit organisation, told Sputnik that “165 government officials, employed under the prime minister's relief package for Pandits, have left the valley so far.”
“The government employees gave a 36-hour deadline asking authorities to relocate them to safer areas. However, this has not been done by the government of Jammu and Kashmir. As per our information, 165 employees under the prime minister's package have left Kashmir with their families. We have also heard that Hindu families from Jammu who were working in Kashmir have also left after the recent killings,” Tickoo told Sputnik.
“At many locations, we noticed that authorities prevented Kashmiri Pandits from leaving their homes by setting up barricades. However, the Pandit government employees decided to leave on Friday,” Tickoo added. Tickoo said that the families were leaving despite assurances given by the government in Jammu and Kashmir.
This week, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha tweeted: “Terrorists and their sympathisers will be given unforgettable response for dastardly attack."
A total of 18 civilians have been killed by suspected militants in Kashmir this year alone. Among the dead are government employees, minority community members and a social media influencer.
The latest victim was identified as Vijay Kumar, a resident of the Rajasthan state who worked as a bank manager in the Kulgam district of Kashmir. Surveillance footage of the incident shows a masked man entering the bank and shooting Kumar at close range.
A statement believed to have been released by a lesser-known militant group circulating on social media read: “Anyone involved in the demographic change of Kashmir will meet the same fate."
After India's federal government revoked the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, militants have carried out similar killings of non-locals, accusing them of changing the Muslim-majority region’s demography. The revocation of the autonomy lifted restrictions on the purchase of land in Kashmir by non-locals.
However, local residents have also been targeted by militant groups, who previously warned that they would attack anyone found working with the government against secessionist interests.
Authorities remain concerned as the killings occurred ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage, where a record number of 800,000 Hindu pilgrims are expected to visit Kashmir.